US News Woman Trades Single Packet of McDonald's Szechuan Sauce for Volkswagen

We've seen some questionably-priced cars, but this trade takes the cake on oddities exchanged. Fans of the TV show Rick and Morty have begun to trade in a new currency: Szechuan sauce. In a bizarre trade, one woman happened to acquire more than she bargained for, a 2004 Volkswagen GTI.

Let's rap a bit about where Szechuan sauce came from and understand just why it's getting such obnoxious pricing from the public. In 1998, McDonald's and Disney worked together on a promotion to celebrate the launch of the movie Mulan. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the plot of the Disney movie revolved around a young woman who disguised herself as a man to fight the Huns (alongside a Chinese army consisting of only men). As part of the promo, McDonald's released a teriyaki-flavored dipping sauce they called Szechuan sauce, and it slowly fizzled into the night once the hype of the movie wore off.

Fast forward to 2017. Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland's hit TV show, Rick and Morty, returns with the unannounced first episode of its long-awaited season 3 premier. At the end of the episode, Rick goes on a 30-second rant about how the entire show's plot is actually driven by his need for Szechuan sauce.

Naturally, fans bought right into the hype, and so did McDonald's. So much so, that they actually re-released the limited-edition sauce at some locations for just a single day. But many fans still couldn't get a packet for themselves, and the fear of missing out drove thousands to restaurants across the country.